Coating Apparatus and Coating Method

ABSTRACT

A coating apparatus includes a chamber body having a reaction chamber, a supporting rack, a monomer discharge source and a plasma generation source. The supporting rack has a supporting area for supporting the substrate. The monomer discharge source has a discharge inlet for introducing a coating forming material into the reaction chamber. The plasma generation source is arranged for exciting the coating forming material, wherein the supporting area of the supporting rack is located at a position between the monomer discharge source and the plasma generation source, so that the coating is evenly formed on the surface of the substrate, and the deposition velocity is increased.

CROSS REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a non-provisional application that claims priorityunder 35U.S.C. § 119 to China application number CN201911310683.X,filing date Dec. 18, 2019, wherein the entire content of which isexpressly incorporated herein by reference.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to any reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as itappears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent files orrecords, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Field of Invention

The present invention relates to coating deposition, and moreparticularly to a coating apparatus and coating method for applying andforming a coating on a substrate which is adapted for being arrangedbetween a discharge source of a coating forming material and a plasmageneration source to avoid an excessive decomposition of the coatingforming material during a coating forming process.

Description of Related Arts

A coating apparatus is arranged for forming a polymer nanocoating orfilm layer on a surface of a substrate, which is made of a materialcomprising, but is not limited to, metal, glass, ceramic, polymer,fabrics, fibers, powder, and semiconductor, to improve variousproperties of the substrate such as hydrophobic, hydrophilic,oleophobic, anti-rust, mildew proof, moisture barrier, electrical andthermal conductive, biomedical, optical, and tribological performances.

A typical coating apparatus implementing a PECVD (Plasma EnhancedChemical Vapor Deposition) process is generally constructed forintroducing a gaseous coating forming material into a vacuum chamber, inwhich one or more substrates are disposed, to form a polymer layer onthe surface of the substrate. More specifically, the gaseous coatingforming material, which may comprise, but is not limited to, an organicmaterial, an organosilicon material, an inorganic material, and acombination thereof, is a gaseous monomer or monomer vapor which isactivated to be in a plasma state by discharging electrical power to themonomer to produce various types of reactive precursor species. Andthen, reactions between the reactive precursor species and the monomer,or between the reactive precursor species themselves take place and thepolymer film is then deposited and formed on the surface of thesubstrate.

The monomer should be excited to produce the reactive precursor species,but an excessive exposure of the monomer in the plasma exciting mediacan result in an excessive decomposition of the monomer, so that adeposition velocity and a uniformity of the polymer coating is adverselyaffected.

Referring to FIG. 1A of the drawings, a conventional coating apparatusincludes a chamber body 1, a discharge source 2 of coating formingmaterial for introducing the coating forming material into the chamberbody 1, and a plasma generation source 3 for applying an electricalpower to the coating forming material so as to excite the coatingforming material. As shown in the drawings, one or more substrates 4 aredisposed between opposite electrodes of the plasma generation source 3.The coating forming material disperses into the space between oppositeelectrodes of the plasma generation source 3 to undergo an excitingprocess for generating the reactive precursor species. Since the coatingforming material should be excited in the effect of the plasmageneration source 3 and then deposit on the substrates 4 which areplaced in the plasma generation source 3, an excessive decomposition ofthe coating forming material may occur. In addition, the exposure of thesubstrates 4 between the electrodes of the plasma generation source 3may also result in a damage to the substrates 4.

Referring to FIG. 1B of the drawings, another conventional coatingapparatus includes a chamber body 1, a discharge source 2 of coatingforming material, and a plasma generation source 3 which is placedbetween the discharge source 2 of coating forming material and thesubstrates 4 to be coated. During the coating method, the coatingforming material is required to pass through the space between oppositeelectrodes of the plasma generation source 3 to implement the excitingprocess for generating the reactive precursor species before reaching tothe substrates 4.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,968,154B2, entitled “Atomization of a precursor into anexcitation medium for coating a remote substrate” and U.S. Pat. No.8,029,872B2, entitled “Application of a coating forming material onto atleast one substrate” have disclosed such above coating apparatusincluding an atomized monomer source and a plasma excitation medium. Thesubstrates and the atomized monomer source are respectively located ontwo opposite sides of the plasma excitation medium that the atomizedmonomer source passes through the plasma excitation medium, and then isdeposited on the surfaces of the substrates on the opposite side of theplasma excitation medium to form the polymer coating. It thus can beseen that the atomized monomer can only be deposited on the surfaces ofthe substrates after passing through the plasma excitation medium. Theplasma excitation medium can cause a relative large portion of theatomized monomer to decompose for a relatively long time, so thatexcessive decomposition of the atomized monomer may take place, and thusthe formed coating is hard to retain the chemical properties of theatomized coating forming material.

U.S. application Ser. No. 16/095,179 entitled “Multi-source low-powerlow-temperature plasma polymerized coating device and method” hasdisclosed a coating device by replacing a single high-frequencydischarge source with large area and high power by combining a pluralityof high-frequency discharge sources with a small area and a low power.However, this method still somehow excessively destroys a chemicalmonomer structure of the monomer and causes unsatisfied quality of theformed polymer coating, and the structure of the device is relativelycomplicated and difficult for assembling.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention is advantageous in that it provides a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein a substrate is adapted to beformed with a coating on a surface thereof without an excessivedecomposition of a coating forming material during a plasmapolymerization coating method.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein the substrate to be coated isadapted for being placed between a monomer discharge source forintroducing the coating forming material into a chamber body and aplasma generation source for exciting the coating forming material, sothat the coating forming material which is a gaseous monomer or monomervapor is not required to pass through the plasma generation sourcebefore reaching to the substrate, and thus the excessive decompositionof the coating forming material is reduced.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein the substrate to be coated isadapted to be placed at a position having a smaller distance away fromthe monomer discharge source than the plasma generation source in such amanner that at least a portion of the coating forming material reachesan area for positioning the substrate before reaching to the plasmageneration source, so that not all of the coating forming material isrequired to pass through the plasma generation source before reaching tothe substrate.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein the configuration of the monomerdischarge source, a supporting rack for supporting the substrate, andthe plasma generation source is able to maintain a desired level ofreactions between reactions between reactive precursor species, whichare produced by a proportion of the monomer reaching to the plasmageneration source, and another proportion of the monomer which has notdecomposed into the reactive precursor species, so as to increase aquality of the formed polymer coating on the surface of the substrate.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein according to some embodiments, thesubstrate to be coated can be supported on the supporting rack which isa movable between the monomer discharge source and the plasma generationsource, so as to adjust the distance between the substrate and theplasma generation source, so as to control and adjust a composition of aformed polymer material which is deposited on the surface of thesubstrate.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein according to some embodiments, theplasma generation source is provided at a substantial central positionof a reaction chamber of the chamber body while a plurality of thesubstrates can be arranged around the plasma generation source, whereinthe coating forming material, which can be discharged from the monomerdischarge source at a position adjacent to an inner wall of the chamberbody, radially disperses into the reaction chamber and has to passthrough the area for placing the substrate before reaching to the plasmageneration source.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein according to some embodiments, thesupporting rack for supporting the substrate can be embodied to comprisea rotation rack that rotate with respect to the plasma generation sourcein the reaction chamber to change a relative position between thesubstrate and the plasma generation source, and also functions to stirthe gaseous coating forming material dispersed into the reactionchamber, so as to increase a uniformity of the polymer coating formed onthe surface of the substrate.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein according to some embodiments, arelative movement between the substrate and the monomer discharge sourceof the coating forming material is controllable, so as to adjust anamount of the coating forming material, which has not been subject to anexciting process by the plasma generation source, reaching to thesubstrate, so that adequate reactions of the reactive precursor speciesand the monomer allow the polymer coating with high quality to bedeposited on the surface of the substrate.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein according to some embodiments, arelative movement between the substrate and the plasma generation sourceis controllable to control the amount of the reactive precursor speciesreaching to the substrate, rendering adequate reactions of the reactiveprecursor species and the monomer before the formation of the polymercoating on the surface of the substrate.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein according to some embodiments, thesubstrate is adapted for being supported on a carrier rack which isoperable to rotate about its central axis and is also rotating alongwith an rotation rack, so as to adjust a relative position between thesubstrate and the plasma generation source, so as to adjust the amountof the reactive precursor species and the monomer reaching to thesubstrate for forming the polymer coating on the surface of thesubstrate.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein the substrate to be coated isadapted for being arranged at an outer side of the plasma generationsource, so as to avoid a damage to the substrate by the plasmageneration source during the coating process.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein the coating is evenly formed onthe surface of the substrate, and the deposition velocity is increased.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein the amount of the coating formingmaterial used for forming the polymer coating is increased, so as toavoid waste and reduce cost.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein branching and cross-linking in amolecular structure of the polymer coating are enhanced, and anintegrity of the molecular structure of the polymer coating is achieved,so as to ensure a good performance of the polymer coating.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a coatingapparatus and coating method, wherein the apparatus is simple instructure, easy for operation and maintenance.

Additional advantages and features of the invention will become apparentfrom the description which follows, and may be realized by means of theinstrumentalities and combinations particularly pointing out in theappended claims.

According to the present invention, the foregoing and other objects andadvantages are attained by a coating apparatus for coating a substrate,wherein the coating apparatus comprises a chamber body, a monomerdischarge source and a plasma generation source. The chamber body has areaction chamber, wherein the chamber body has a substrate positioningarea for positioning the substrate. The monomer discharge source has adischarge inlet for introducing a coating forming material into thereaction chamber of the chamber body. The plasma generation source isdisposed in the reaction chamber of the chamber body for exciting thecoating forming material, wherein the substrate positioning area islocated at a position between the monomer discharge source and theplasma generation source in such manner that the substrate is adaptedfor being arranged between the monomer discharge source and the plasmageneration source.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the presentinvention provides a coating apparatus for coating a substrate, whereinthe coating apparatus comprises a chamber body having a reactionchamber, a supporting rack, a monomer discharge source and a plasmageneration source. The supporting rack has a supporting area forsupporting the substrate within the reaction chamber of the chamberbody. The monomer discharge source has a discharge inlet for introducinga coating forming material into the reaction chamber of the chamberbody. The plasma generation source is disposed in the reaction chamberof the chamber body for exciting the coating forming material, whereinthe supporting area of the supporting rack is located at a positionbetween the monomer discharge source and the plasma generation source insuch manner that the substrate is adapted for being arranged between themonomer discharge source and the plasma generation source.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the presentinvention provides a coating method for coating a substrate, wherein thecoating method comprises the following steps.

(a) Arrange the substrate in a reaction chamber of a chamber body at aposition between a monomer discharge source and a plasma generationsource.

(b) Introduce a coating forming material into the reaction chamberthrough the monomer discharge source for forming a polymer coating on asurface of the substrate in the effect of the plasma generation source.

Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from aconsideration of the ensuing description and drawings.

These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed description,the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic view of a conventional coating apparatus.

FIG. 1B is a schematic view of another conventional coating apparatus.

FIG. 2A is a schematic view illustrating a coating apparatus accordingto a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a schematic view illustrating the coating apparatus beingplaced with a substrate for implementing the coating method according tothe above first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2C is a schematic view illustrating the coating apparatus accordingto an alternative mode of the above first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2D is a schematic view illustrating the coating apparatus accordingto another alternative mode of the above first preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3A is a schematic view of a coating apparatus according to a secondpreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3B and 3C are schematic views illustrating a supporting rack whichis carrying the substrate and moving between a monomer discharge sourceand a plasma generation source of the coating apparatus according to theabove second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a schematic view of the coating apparatus according to analternative mode of above second preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4B is a schematic view of the coating apparatus according toanother alternative mode of above second preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic views illustrating a supporting rack whichis mounted with the plasma generation source and is carrying thesubstrate moving between a monomer discharge source and a plasmageneration source of the coating apparatus according to anotheralternative mode of the above second preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic views illustrating a supporting rack whichis carrying the substrate moving close to or away from a plasmageneration source of the coating apparatus according to anotheralternative mode of the above second preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a coating apparatus according to a thirdpreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the coating apparatus according to analternative mode of the above third preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the coating apparatus according to anotheralternative mode of above third preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following description is disclosed to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the present invention. Preferred embodiments areprovided in the following description only as examples and modificationswill be apparent to those skilled in the art. The general principlesdefined in the following description would be applied to otherembodiments, alternatives, modifications, equivalents, and applicationswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B of the drawings, a coating apparatus whichis arranged to implement a novel plasma polymerization coating methodfor forming a polymer coating 92 on a surface 91 of a substrate 90according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention isillustrated. More specifically, the coating apparatus comprises achamber body 10 defining a reaction chamber 11, a monomer dischargesource 20 communicated to the reaction chamber 11 for introducing agaseous coating forming material 201, which is a gaseous monomer ormonomer vapor, into the reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10, anda plasma generation source 30 operable to induce an electrical filedinternally of the reaction chamber 11 for forming a plasma in such amanner that the plasma generation source 20 applies an electrical powerto the coating forming material 201 to excite the coating formingmaterial 201, so as to break down the coating forming material 201 toform reactive precursor species, so that the coating forming material201 is activated to be in a plasma state, so as to induce reactionsbetween the reactive precursor species and the monomer, as well asreactions between the reactive precursor species themselves in thereaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10, so that the polymer coating92 is then deposited and formed on the surface 91 of the substrate 90.

According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, asshown in FIG. 2B of the drawings, the plasma generation source 30 isarranged in the reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10 at a positionremotely from the monomer discharge source 20, the chamber body 10 has asubstrate positioning area 12 which is arranged between the monomerdischarge source 20 and the plasma generation source 20, so that atleast one substrate 90 is suitable for being arranged in the reactionchamber 11 between the monomer discharge source 20 and the plasmageneration source 30 during a plasma polymerization coating method ofthe present invention for forming the polymer coating 92 of the surface91 of the substrate 90.

Accordingly, during the plasma polymerization coating method of thesubstrate 90, one or more substrates 90 can be disposed at the substratepositioning area 12 of the chamber body 11 in such a manner that themonomer discharge source 20 is arranged at a first side of the substrate90 and the plasma generation source 30 is located at an opposite secondside of the substrate 90, so that when the coating forming material 201is discharged into the reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10, thecoating forming material 201 does not have to pass through the plasmageneration source 30 before reaching to the substrate 90, so as to avoidthe excessive decomposition of the coating forming material 201.

More specifically, when the monomer discharge source 20 is in operationto discharge the coating forming material 201, the coating formingmaterial 201 disperses into the reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body10 and reaches the substrate positioning area 12 of the chamber body 10first, only a proportion of the coating forming material 201 is subjectto an exciting process of the plasma generation source 30, rending thecoating forming material 201 to decompose, polymerize and deposit on thesurface 91 of the substrate to form the polymer coating 92.

In the plasma polymerization coating method of the instant invention,since the substrate 90 is adapted for being placed in a flowing route ofthe coating forming material 201 which flows from the monomer dischargesource 20 to the plasma generation source 30, and a distance between thesubstrate 90 and the monomer discharge source 20 is smaller than adistance between the substrate 90 and the plasma generation source 30,not all of the coating forming material 201 is excited by the plasmageneration source 30, so that excessive decomposition of the coatingforming material 201 is avoided.

The substrate 90 can be directly placed on the substrate positioningarea 12 of the chamber body 10. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2B ofthe drawings, a plurality of substrates 90 can be placed on a supportingrack 40, and then the supporting rack 40 which is loaded with theplurality of substrates 90 can be placed on the substrate positioningarea 12 of the chamber body 10 and is received in the reaction chamber11 of the chamber body 10. Alternatively, the supporting rack 40 can beplaced on the substrate positioning area 12 of the chamber body 10 andis received in the reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10, and thenthe plurality of substrates 90 can be placed on a supporting rack 40. Asanother alternative mode, the supporting rack 40 is mounted to thechamber body 10 and is disposed in the reaction chamber 11, during thecoating process, the plurality of the substrates 90 is put on thesupporting rack 40.

The supporting rack 40 comprises a carrier rack 41 which may comprisemultiple supporting platforms for supporting multiple layers of thesubstrates 90. The carrier rack 41 has a supporting area 411 for placingand supporting the substrate 90, and the supporting area 411 is arrangedbetween the monomer discharge source 20 and the plasma generation source30. In alternative modes, the whole supporting rack 40 may not bearranged between the monomer discharge source 20 and the plasmageneration source 30, but as along as the supporting area 411 of thesupporting rack 40 for supporting the substrate 90 is arranged betweenthe monomer discharge source 20 and the plasma generation source 30, thesubstrate 90 which is adapted for being placed on the supporting area411 of the supporting rack can be located between the monomer dischargesource 20 and the plasma generation source 30.

The person of ordinary skilled in the art should understand that thesubstrate positioning area 12 of the chamber body 10 is an area fordirectly supporting one or more substrates 90, or an area for supportingand accommodating the supporting rack 40 which is adapted for beingloaded with one or more substrates 90.

The chamber body 10 of the present invention is a housing defining thereaction chamber 11. A cross section of the reaction chamber 11 of thechamber body 10 can be, but not limited to, a circular shape, an ovalshape, an a polygonal shape such as a rectangular shape, a pentagonalshape, a hexagonal shape, a heptagonal shape, an octagonal shape, anonagonal shape, and a decagonal shape. As an example of this preferredembodiment, the chamber body 10 is configured to have a rectangularreaction chamber 11. The monomer discharge source 20 is arranged at afirst side of the rectangular reaction chamber 11 while the plasmageneration source 30 can be arranged at an opposite second side of therectangular reaction chamber 11. As shown in the drawings, the monomerdischarge source 20 can be arranged adjacent to a first side wall 101 ofthe chamber body 10 while the plasma generation source 30 is remotelyfrom the monomer discharge source 20 and is arranged at a second sidewall 102 of the chamber body 10 which is opposite to the first side wall101 of the chamber body 10.

The monomer discharge source 20 has at least one discharge inlet 21 forintroducing the coating forming material 201 into the reaction chamber11 of the chamber body 10. The discharge inlet 21 can be formed in awall of the chamber body 10 and penetrate a thickness of the wall of thechamber body 10. Alternatively, the discharge inlet 21 can be formed ina feeding nozzle which is embedded in the wall of the chamber body 10.Alternatively, the discharge inlet 21 is formed in a feeding nozzle,which is a feeding head at a distal end of a feeding tube, extendinginto the reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10.

According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, thecoating apparatus further comprises a monomer supply unit 50 forsupplying the coating forming material 201 to the monomer dischargesource 30. More specifically, the monomer supply unit 50 of thispreferred embodiment comprises a material storage member 51 for storinga raw material 202 of the coating forming material 201, a vaporizer 52for vaporizing the raw material 202, and a delivering tube system 53 fordelivering the raw material 202 from the material storage member 51 tothe monomer discharge source 20.

Accordingly, the coating forming material 201 discharged through themonomer discharge source 20 is a gaseous monomer vapor material. The rawmaterial 202 of the coating forming material 201 can be a liquid orliquid/solid slurry, either alone or in mixture, and the vaporizer 52can comprise an atomizer, a heating device, an ultrasonic nozzle, or anebulizer. As an example, the vaporizer 52 may comprise a heating devicewhich is provided for heating the raw material 202 in the deliveringtube system 53 for producing the gaseous monomer vapor material. Theheating device may be provided at any position along the delivering tubesystem 53. Typically, the heating device may be provided at the positioncorresponding to the monomer discharge source 20, so that when the rawmaterial 202 in a liquid state is delivered to the monomer dischargesource 20, the raw material 202 will be heated by the heating device andproduce the gaseous monomer vapor material which is discharged into thereaction chamber 11. The raw material 202 of the coating formingmaterial 201 can be a powder, and the vaporizer 52 can be a plain-jetgas blast atomizer. In addition, a carrier gas may also be suppliedalong with the coating forming material 201. The number of the materialstorage member 51, the vaporizer 52, the delivering tube system 53, andthe monomer discharge source 20 is not limited, one or more materialstorage members 51, vaporizers 52, delivering tube systems 53, andmonomer discharge sources 20 may be adopted in some embodiments.

An electrical discharge manner of the plasma generation source 30comprises, but not limited to, a direct current discharge, analternating current discharge, an audio frequency discharge, a radiofrequency discharge by a capacitive coupling or an inductive coupling, amicrowave discharge by a resonant cavity, a surface wave coupling or anelectron cyclotron resonance, a medium frequency discharge, a penningdischarge, a spark discharge and a pulse discharge. In addition, theplasma generation source 30 can be operated to discharge electric powercontinuously, or in a pulsed manner.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B of the drawings, the plasma generationsource 30 comprises an electrode means 31 for generating an electricfiled in the reaction chamber 11 for establishing the plasma in thereaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10. According to this preferredembodiment, the electrode means 31 comprises a first electrode 311 and asecond electrode 312 defining a discharge field 313 between the firstand second electrodes 311 and 312. As a typical example, the pair ofelectrodes 311 and 312 of this preferred embodiment functioning aspositive and negative electrodes is disposed in the reaction chamber 11of the chamber body 10 at a position remotely from the monomer dischargesource 20, and is connected to an energy source such as an RF generatorwhich is placed at an outer side of the chamber body 10. Alternatively,the first electrode 311 can be electrically connected to the energysource, and the second electrode 312 can be grounded. Preferably, eachof the first and second electrodes 311 and 312 may further be embodiedas a porous electrode which has a plurality of holes communicating thedischarge filed 313 with the reaction chamber 11.

The coating forming material 201 itself can function as a plasma sourcegas. Furthermore, the coating apparatus may further comprise a plasmasource gas feeding unit for feeding a plasma source gas, which includes,but not limited to, an inert gas and nitrogen, into the reaction chamber11 of the chamber body 10. Accordingly, before the monomer dischargesource 20 feeds the coating forming material 201 into the reactionchamber 11, the plasma source gas can be injected into the reactionchamber 11 to produce the plasma in the effect of the plasma generationsource 30, so as to provide a plasma environment for the coating formingmaterial 201. In addition, the carrier gas may function as the plasmasource gas, and is introduced into the reaction chamber 11 forgenerating the plasma before feeding the coating forming material 201into the reaction chamber 11.

It is appreciated that the person of ordinary skilled in art is able torecognize that one or more additional discharge sources for dischargingthe coating forming material 201 may be arranged at the chamber body 10in such a manner that the plasma generation source 30 is at a positionbetween the substrate 90 and the additional discharge sources fordischarging the coating forming material 201. In these embodiments, aproportion of the coating forming material 201 is discharged through themonomer discharge source 20 at a position adjacent to the substrateposition area 101 of the chamber body while another proportion of thecoating forming material 201 is discharged through the additionaldischarge source and passes through the plasma generation source 30before reaching to the substrate 90, so that not all of the coatingforming material 201 is excited by the plasma generation source 30, soas to prevent all of the coating forming material 201 being decomposedinto small species.

In addition, the coating apparatus may further comprise other componentssuch as a pressure adjustment unit 60 which is adjacent to the plasmageneration source 30 and remotely from the monomer discharge source 20for adjusting a pressure in the reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body10, a control unit for controlling the operation of the coatingapparatus, a tail gas tube for collecting a tail gas. During the plasmapolymerization coating method of the present invention, the reactionchamber 11 is a vacuum chamber in the effect of the pressure adjustmentunit 60 before feeding the coating forming material 201 into thereaction chamber 11. The term “vacuum chamber” means a chamber having alower gas pressure than what is outside of the chamber, and the termdoes not necessarily mean that the chamber is exhausted to a vacuumstate.

The substrate 90 of the present invention comprises metal, glass,ceramic, polymer, fabrics, fibers, powder, and semiconductor, and canbe, but not limited to an electronic component or electronic device, amechanical component or mechanical device, a textile or clothing, aglass product, a ceramic product, and etc. For instance, the electroniccomponent or electronic device can be, but not limited to, a mobilephone, a pager, a radio, a loudspeaker, a microphone, a ringer, abuzzer, a hearing aid, an audio player, a television, a laptop, anotebook, a tablet computer, a keyboard, a PCB circuit board, a display,or a sensor. The polymer coating 92 can be, but not limited to ahydrophobic coating, a hydrophilic coating, an oleophobic coating, ananti-rust coating, a mildew proof coating, a moisture barrier coating,an electrical and thermal conductive coating, a biomedical coating, anoptical coating, and a tribological coating. The coated surface 91 ofthe substrate 90 can be an entire surface of the substrate 90, or apartial area of the entire surface of the substrate 90.

A typical polymer coating 92 is a hydrophobic polymeric coating whilethe coating forming material 201 includes —CF3 based perfluorocompounds, per fluorinated alkenes, hydrogen containing unsaturatedcompounds, optionally substituted alkynes, polyether substitutedalkenes, organic compounds comprising two double bonds, saturatedorganic compounds having an optionally substituted alky chain of atleast 5 carbon atoms optionally interposed with a heteroatom,macrocycles containing at least one heteroatom.

As an example of the coating forming material 201, the monomer is amixture of one or more monofunctional unsaturated fluorocarbon resinsand one or more polyfunctional unsaturated hydrocarbon derivatives. Themonofunctional unsaturated fluorocarbon resin includes, but not limitedto 3-(perfluoro-5-methylhexyl)-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate,2-(perfluorodecyl)ethyl methacrylate, 2-(perfluorohexyl)ethylmethacrylate, 1,1,2,2-Tetrahydroperfluorotetradecyl acrylate,1H,1H,2H,2H-Heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate,1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorooctylacrylate, 2-(Perfluorobutyl)ethyl acrylate,(2H-perfluoropropyl)-2-acrylate, (perfluorocyclohexyl)methyl acrylate,1-propyne,3,3,3-trifluoro-, 1-ethynyl-3,5-difluorobenzene and4-ethynyl-trifluorotoluene. The polyfunctional unsaturated hydrocarbonderivative includes, but not limited to, ethoxylated trimethylolpropanetriacrylate, tripropylene glycol diacrylate, divinylbenzene,poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate, ethyleneglycol diacrylate, diethylene glycol divinyl ether and neopentyl glycoldiacrylate.

As another example, the polymer coating 92 is formed on the surface 91of the substrate 90 to protect the surface 91 from chemical corrosionand enhance hydrophobic performance. More specifically, the monomer hasa structure represented by the following formula:

wherein R1, R2, and R3 are hydrophobic groups and are independentlyselected from hydrogen, alkyl, halogen, or haloalkyl, wherein m is aninteger from 0-8, n is an integer from 1-15.

Referring to FIG. 2C of the drawings, an alternative mode of the coatingapparatus according to the above first preferred embodiment isillustrated. The supporting rack 40 is movable in the reaction chamber11 of the chamber body 10. As a specific example, the supporting rack 40is operable to rotate about a central axis thereof, so that a positionof the substrate 90 in the reaction chamber 11 is adjusted, so as toadjust a distance between the substrate 90 and the plasma generationsource 30 and to adjust a distance between the substrate 90 and themonomer discharge source 20, so as to control and adjust a compositionof a formed polymer material which is deposited on the surface 91 of thesubstrate 92.

Referring to FIG. 2D of the drawings, another alternative mode of thecoating apparatus according to the above first preferred embodiment isillustrated. In this embodiment, the monomer supply unit 50 comprises amaterial storage member 51 for storing a gaseous raw material of thecoating forming material 201, and no vaporizer is required. In otherwords, the coating forming material 201 is stored in the materialstorage member 51 and is directly fed to the monomer discharge source 20through the delivering tube system 53.

As an example, the coating apparatus of this preferred embodiment can beused to form a DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) film on the surface 91 of thesubstrate 90. The coating forming material 201 mainly consisting of agaseous hydrocarbon is directly introduced into the reaction chamber 11to implement the PECVD process.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a coating method for coatingthe substrate 90 by the coating apparatus, and the coating methodcomprises the following steps.

(a) Arrange the substrate 90 in the reaction chamber 11 of the chamberbody 10 at a position between the monomer discharge source 20 and theplasma generation source 30.

(b) Introduce the coating forming material 201 into the reaction chamber11 through the monomer discharge source 20 to implement a PECVD processfor forming the polymer coating 92 on the surface 91 of the substrate 90in the effect of the plasma generation source 30.

The step (a) may comprise a step of placing one or more substrates 90 atthe substrate positioning area 12 of the chamber body, wherein themonomer discharge source 20 and the plasma generation source 30 arerespectively provided at two sides of the one or more substrates 90.

Alternatively, the step (a) may comprise the steps of placing one ormore substrates 90 on a supporting rack 40 and placing the supportingrack 40 with the substrates 90 at the substrate positioning area 12 ofthe chamber body, wherein the monomer discharge source 20 and the plasmageneration source 30 are respectively provided at two sides of thesupporting rack 40.

Alternatively, the step (a) may comprise the steps of configuring thesupporting rack 40 in the reaction chamber 11 at the substratepositioning area 12 of the chamber body 10 and loading one or moresubstrates 90 on the supporting rack 40, wherein the supporting rack 40can be mounted and secured in the chamber body 10, or is just placed inthe reaction chamber 11.

It is worth mentioning that the one or more substrates 90 can behorizontally, inclinedly, or vertically placed in the reaction chamber11 of the chamber body 10.

In the step (a), the coating method comprises a step of spacedlyarranging the monomer discharge source 20 and the plasma generationsource 30 in the reaction chamber 11 at two opposite sides of thereaction chamber 11 of the chamber 10 and positioning one or moresubstrates 90 in a flowing path of the coating forming material 201 fromthe monomer discharge source 20 to the plasma generation source 20 insuch a manner that at least a portion of the coating forming material201 has to pass through the substrate positioning area 12 which isplaced with the substrates 90 before reaching to the plasma generationsource 30.

The step (b) may comprise steps of vaporizing the raw material 202 toform the coating forming material 201 which is a monomer vapor anddelivering the coating forming material 201 to the monomer dischargesource 20 for feeding the coating forming material 201 into the reactionchamber 11 of the chamber body 10. Accordingly, the coating formingmaterial 201 can be pumped into the reaction chamber 11, or drawn intothe reaction chamber 11 as a result of a reduction of pressure in thereaction chamber 11.

The step (b) may comprise a step of supplying the coating formingmaterial 201 which is a gaseous monomer to the monomer discharge source20 for feeding the coating forming material 201 into the reactionchamber 11 of the chamber body 10.

According to this preferred embodiment, in the step (b), as shown inFIG. 2B of the drawings, the coating forming material 201 is dispersedthrough the monomer discharge source 20 into the chamber body 11 towardsthe plasma generation source 30. For example, the coating formingmaterial 201 is horizontally injected into the chamber body 11 towardsthe plasma generation source 30, but the supporting rack 40 is arrangedbetween the monomer discharge source 20 and the plasma generation source30, the coating forming material 201 is not required to pass through theplasma generation source 30 before reaching to the substrate 90 forplasma processing the substrate 90, so that not all of the coatingforming material 201 is activated and excited by the plasma generationsource 30.

Referring to FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C of the drawings, a coating apparatusaccording to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention isillustrated. The coating apparatus of this preferred embodimentcomprises a chamber body 10 having a reaction chamber 11, a monomerdischarge source 20 for discharging a gaseous coating forming material201 into the reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10, a plasmageneration source 30 remotely from the monomer discharge source 20operable to activate and excite the coating forming material 201, and asupporting rack 40A for supporting and carrying a substrate 90 on asupporting area 411A, so that when the plasma generation source 30 is inoperation and a coating forming material 201 is fed into the reactionchamber 11, the substrate 90 is exposed to a plasma generated by theplasma generation source 30 to allow a polymer coating 92 to bedeposited and formed on a surface 91 of the substrate 90.

According to this preferred embodiment, the supporting rack 40A isembodied as a movable supporter that is movable in the reaction chamber11 of the chamber body 10. Particularly, the supporting rack 40A ismovable between the monomer discharge source 20 and the plasmageneration source 30. A movement manner of the supporting rack 40 canbe, but not limited to, a linear movement, a curvilinear movement, asliding movement or a rotating movement, so that a position of thesubstrate 90 in the reaction chamber 11 is adjusted, so as to adjust theamount of the monomer and the decomposed precursors which are depositedon the substrate 90 so as to increase a quality of the formed polymercoating 92 on the surface 91 of the substrate 90. In some embodiments,the movement of the supporting rack 40A provides a substantial sameplasma polymerization environment for a plurality of the substrates 90,so as to enhance a uniformity of the formed polymer coatings 92 on thesubstrates 90.

The movement of the supporting rack 40A may be configured for producinga relative displacement between the substrate 90 and the monomerdischarge source 30, or producing a relative displacement between thesubstrate 90 and the plasma generation source 30, or for producing bothof the above mentioned relative displacements, so that an amount of themonomer which is not excited by the plasma generation source 30, or anamount of the reactive precursor species produced by breaking down themonomer, reaching to the substrate 90 can be adjusted, so as to ensuresuitable and adequate reactions of the monomer and the reactiveprecursor species.

It is worth mentioning that the movement of the supporting rack 40A canbe controlled by a control unit which is programmed to adjust a movingmanner, a moving time interval, or a moving speed of the supporting rack40A, so as to provide a desired plasma polymerization environment forthe substrate 90 to obtain desired branching and cross-linking in amolecular structure of the polymer coating 92 and form the polymercoating 92 with a relatively high quality.

According to this preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A to 3C of thedrawings, the supporting rack 40A is embodied as a movable supporterthat is capable of repeatedly moving between the monomer dischargesource 20 and the plasma generation source 30, so as to adjust thedistance between the substrate 90 and the monomer discharge source 20,as well as the distance between the substrate 90 and the plasmageneration source 30.

As a specific example, the chamber body 10 has a rectangular reactionchamber 11, the monomer discharge source 20 and the plasma generationsource 30 can be arranged at a same side wall of the chamber body 10 andare spacedly apart from each other. For example, the monomer dischargesource 20 and the plasma generation source 30 are arranged at a top sidewall 103 of the chamber body 10. During the plasma polymerizationcoating method, the monomer discharge source 20 discharges the coatingforming material 201, and a monomer area is defined in front of themonomer discharge source 20, the plasma generation source 30 is inoperation for creating a plasma generation area around it, thesupporting rack 40A is moving back and forth between the monomer areaand the plasma area.

As shown in the drawings, in this preferred embodiment, the coatingforming material 201 is not dispersed into the reaction chamber 11through the monomer discharge source 20 towards the plasma generationsource 30, but can be transversely introduced into the reaction chamber11, and then is longitudinally dispersing towards the substrate 90 andthe plasma generation source 30, so that the gaseous flow of the coatingforming material 201 discharged through the monomer discharge source 30will not directly blow the plasma generated around the plasma generationsource 30, rendering a desired mixing performance of the monomer and thereactive precursor species which are broken down from the monomer.

The person of ordinary skilled in the art will understand that thesupporting rack 40A, which is operable to move between the monomerdischarge source 20 and the plasma generation source 30, can be drivenby an electric motor, a pneumatically driving system, or a hydraulicdriving system. The chamber body 10 can be provided with guiding railsor guiding grooves for retaining the supporting rack 40A in position, aswell as for guiding and restricting the movement of the supporting rack40A.

As shown in the drawings, the electrode means 31 of the plasmageneration source 30 of this preferred embodiment is desired to beconstructed to be a planar electrode which is extending in the reactionchamber 11, other electrode means for creating the electric field alsocan be adopted.

Accordingly, this preferred embodiment of the present invention providesa coating method for depositing the polymer coating 92 on the surface 91of the substrate 90, and the coating method comprises the followingsteps.

(A) Feed the coating forming material 201 into the reaction chamber 11of the chamber body 10 through the monomer discharge source 20 which isremotely from the plasma generation source 30.

(B) Move the substrate 90 between the monomer discharge source 20 andthe plasma generation source 30.

(C) Activate the plasma generation source 30 to plasma process thesubstrate 90 for forming the polymer coating 92 on the surface 91 of thesubstrate 90.

It should be noted that the step sequence of the above steps (A), (B)and (C) is not limited. In the step (B), the step may comprise the stepsof carrying the substrate 90 on a supporting rack 40A and driving thesupporting rack 40A to repeatedly move back and forth between themonomer discharge source 20 and the plasma generation source 30. Morespecifically, as a preferred example, the supporting rack 40A is drivento move to adjust the distance between the substrate 90 and the monomerdischarge source 20, as well as the distance between the substrate 90and the plasma generation source 30.

Referring to FIG. 4A of the drawings, as an alternative mode, themonomer discharge source 20 and the plasma generation source 30 may bearranged adjacent to two opposite side walls of the chamber body 10. Forexample, the monomer discharge source 20 is arranged adjacent to a topside wall 103 while the plasma generation source 30 is mounted to abottom side wall 104 of the chamber body 10. As shown in FIG. 4B of thedrawings, as another alternative mode, the monomer discharge source 20may be arranged adjacent to at an end side wall 101 of the chamber body10 for discharging the coating forming material 201 towards thesubstrate 90 while the plasma generation source 30 may be arranged at abottom wall 104 of the chamber body 10. In other words, the monomerdischarge source 20 and the plasma generation source 30 can be arrangedat adjacent side walls 101 and 104 of the chamber body 10.

Referring to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B of the drawings, as still anotheralternative mode of the above preferred embodiment, the plasmageneration source 30 can be mounted to the supporting rack 40A at a sidewhich is opposite to the monomer discharge source 20. The supportingrack 40A is immovable, or preferably, the supporting rack 40A isconfigured to be movable to adjust the distance between the supportingrack 40A and the monomer discharge source 20, and the distance betweenthe monomer discharge source 20 and the plasma generation source 30 isalso adjusted. According to this preferred embodiment, the relativeposition between the substrate 90 and the plasma generation source 30can be fixed, but the plasma generation source 30 can move along withthe supporting rack 40A to change the plasma creating environment withinthe reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10.

Referring to FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B of the drawings, another alternativemode of the coating apparatus is illustrated. In this embodiment, theperson of ordinary skilled in the art should understand that thesupporting rack 40A may also move to a position in such a manner thatthe plasma generation source 30 is located between the monomer dischargesource 20 and the substrate 90. However, during the movement of thesupporting rack 40A between the monomer discharge source 10 and theplasma generation source 30, the coating forming material 201 has topass through the supporting rack 40A before reaching to the plasmageneration source 30, so that not all of the coating forming material201 is required to pass through the plasma generation source 30 beforereaching to the substrate 90.

In other words, this preferred embodiment provides a coating method fordepositing the polymer coating 92 on the surface 91 of the substrate 90comprising the followings steps.

Move the substrate 90 in the reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10defining a moving path of the substrate 90, wherein during at least aproportion of the moving path, the substrate 90 is located at a positionbetween the monomer discharge source 20 and the plasma generation source30.

Discharge the coating forming material 201 into the reaction chamber ofthe chamber body 10 to activate the plasma process of the substrate 90during the operation of the plasma generation source 30.

Accordingly, the moving path of the substrate 90 can be divided a firstproportion in which the monomer discharge source 20 and the plasmageneration source 30 are respectively located at two sides of thesubstrate 90 and a second proportion in which the monomer dischargesource 20 and the substrate 90 are respectively located at two sides ofthe plasma generation source, and the first portion of the moving pathcan be significantly larger than the second portion of the moving pathof the substrate 90 which is carried by the supporting rack 40A.

Referring to FIG. 7 of drawings, a coating apparatus according to athird preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Morespecifically, the coating apparatus of this preferred embodimentcomprises a chamber body 10 having a reaction chamber 11, one or moremonomer discharge sources 20 for discharging a gaseous coating formingmaterial 201 into the reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10, aplasma generation source 30B for exciting the coating forming material201, and a supporting rack 40B for supporting and carrying a substrate90, so that when the plasma generation source 30B is in operation and acoating forming material 201 is fed into the reaction chamber 11 throughthe one or more monomer discharge sources 20, a polymer coating 92 isdeposited and formed on a surface 91 of the substrate 90.

According to this preferred embodiment, the plasma generation source 30Bis arranged at a substantial central area of the supporting rack 40B.Preferably, the plasma generation source 30B can be arranged at thecenter of the reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10 while aplurality of substrates 90 which is to be coated with the polymercoating 92 is adapted for being arranged around the plasma generationsource 30B to encircle the plasma generation source 30B, so that thesubstrate 90 is adapted for being arranged between the plasma generationsource 30B and the monomer discharge source 20.

More specifically, a plurality of monomer discharge sources 20, such asfour monomer discharge sources 20, can be arranged at positions adjacentto an inner wall of the chamber body 10, and coating forming material201 can be discharged at positions adjacent to an inner perimeter of thechamber body 10 and flow towards the plasma generation source 30B at thecentral position of the chamber body 10. Since the plurality of monomerdischarge sources 20 and the plasma generation source 30B are providedat two opposite sides of the substrate 90, excessive decomposition ofthe coating forming material 201 is prevented.

The plasma generation source 30B of this preferred embodiment of thepresent invention comprises an electrode means 31B for applying anelectric power to the coating forming material 201 discharged into thechamber body 10. More specifically, as an example, the electrode means31B comprises at least one pair of electrodes, preferably, a pluralityof pairs of first electrode 311B and second electrode 312B are providedat the center of the reaction chamber 11. As shown in FIG. 7 of thedrawings, each of the first electrodes 311B and second electrodes 312Bcan be embodied as an elongated electrode plate vertically arranged inthe reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10. In this exemplifyingembodiment, four first electrodes 311B and four second electrodes 312Bare alternatingly arranged along a circumferential direction.

The first electrodes 311B and the second electrodes 311B are positiveand negative electrodes, and are respectively electrically connected totwo connecting ends of an energy source such as an RF generator which isplaced at an outer side of the chamber body 10. Alternatively, the firstelectrode 311B can be electrically connected to the energy source, andthe second electrode 312B can be grounded.

The supporting rack 40B of this preferred embodiment comprises one ormore carrier racks 41B for carrying one or more substrates 90. Each ofthe carrier racks 41B has a supporting area 411B for positing thesubstrate 90 which can be horizontally, inclinedly, and verticallyplaced at the carrier set 411B. In this embodiment, the substrate 90 canbe horizontally placed at the supporting area 411B and is retained andsupported by the supporting area 411B.

According to this preferred embodiment, a plurality of supporting areas411B of one or more carrier rack 41B is arranged between the plasmageneration source 30B and the monomer discharge source 20, so that whenone or more substrates 90 are placed at the corresponding supportingarea 411B, the monomer discharge source 20 and the plasma generationsource 30B are respectively arranged at two opposite sides of eachcorresponding substrate 90.

Furthermore, each of the carrier racks 41B of the supporting rack 40B ofthis preferred embodiment can carry a plurality of the substrates 90 andis movable in the reaction chamber 11, and the movement of each of thecarrier racks 41B can be, but not limited to, a linear movement, acurvilinear movement, a sliding movement, and a rotation movement. As aspecific example of this preferred embodiment, each of the carrier racks41B of the supporting rack 40B is operable to rotate about a centralaxis Y thereof.

The supporting rack 40B of this preferred embodiment further comprises amovable rack 42B for supporting the one or more carrier racks 41B. Themovement of the movable rack 42B also can be, but not limited to, alinear movement, a curvilinear movement, a sliding movement, and arotation movement.

According to this preferred embodiment, the movable rack 42B isfunctioning as a rotation rack that is operable to rotate about acentral axis X within the reaction chamber which is embodied as acircular chamber, and since the carrier racks 41B are supported on themovable rack 42B, each of the carrier racks moves along with the movablerack 42B while simultaneously self-rotate with respect to its centralaxis Y, so that two types of the movements of the carrier racks 41Bchange the relative position between each of the substrates 90 and theplasma generation source 30.

Referring to FIG. 8 of the drawings, as an alternative mode of the abovethird preferred embodiment of the present invention, the coatingapparatus comprise a plasma generation source 30C which comprises anelectrode means 31C. The electrode means 31C of this preferredembodiment comprises a first electrode 311C and a second electrode 312Ceach of which is embodied as a cylindrical electrode, the firstelectrode 311C is sleeved around the second electrode 312C to define acircular discharge field 313C between the first electrode 311C and thesecond electrode 312C. The first electrode 311C can be electricallyconnected to an energy source such as an RF generator, and the secondelectrode 312C can be grounded.

In addition, the first electrode 311C can be embodied as a porouselectrode having a plurality of holes that communicate the dischargefield 313C to the reaction chamber 11, the second electrode 312C isformed as an elongated tube having communicating holes which arecommunicated with the reaction chamber 11, so that it may furtherfunction as a gas extracting tube communicated to an outer side of thereaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10 for extracting the gaseousmixture out of the reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10, so as toadjust the pressure within the reaction chamber 11 as well as to removethe tail gas in the reaction chamber 11.

Referring to FIG. 9 of the drawings, according to another alternativemode of the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, thecoating apparatus comprises the plasma generation source 30C and asupporting rack 40C. In this preferred embodiment, the supporting rack40C functions as a rotation rack that is capable of rotating about itscentral axis X, and a plurality of substrate 90 can be directly put onthe supporting rack 40C without requiring the carrier racks 41Bmentioned above. The displacement of the plurality of substrates 90 isresulting from the rotation of the supporting rack 40C.

According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, acoating method for depositing the polymer coating 92 on the surface 91of each of the plurality of substrates 90 comprises the following steps.

(α) Surround the plasma generation source 30B/30C by the plurality ofsubstrates 90 and configure the monomer discharge source 20 and theplasma generation source 30B/30C at two opposite sides of the substrates90.

(β) Discharge the coating forming material 201 into the reaction chamber11 of the chamber body 10 to plasma processing the substrates 90 by theplasma generation source 30B/30C.

Accordingly, in the step (α), the plasma generation source 30B/30C isarranged at an inner side of the substrates 90 while the monomerdischarge source 20 is arranged at an outer side of the substrates 90.The plasma generation source 30B/30C can be arranged at a central areaof the reaction chamber 11 and the substrates 90 are encircled aroundthe plasma generation source 30B/30C.

In the step (β), at least a proportion of the coating forming material201 is required to pass through the supporting rack 40B/40C which iscarried with the substrates 90 before reaching to the plasma generationsource 30B/30C.

The step (β) may further comprise a step of circumferentially arranginga plurality of the monomer discharge sources 20 and radially dischargingthe coating forming material 201 through the monomer discharge sources20 towards the plasma generation source 30B/30C at the central area ofthe reaction chamber 11 of the chamber body 10.

The coating method may further comprise the steps of rotating a rotationrack 42B about the central axis X and rotating the carrier racks 41Babout the central axis Y, wherein each of the carrier racks 41B, whichis used for carrying the substrates 90, is supported on the rotationrack 42B to rotate about the axis X along with the rotation rack 42Bwhile simultaneously rotate about its own axis Y.

One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of thepresent invention as shown in the drawings and described above isexemplary only and not intended to be limiting.

It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have beenfully and effectively accomplished. The embodiments have been shown anddescribed for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structuralprinciples of the present invention and are subject to change withoutdeparture from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes allmodifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A coating apparatus for coating a substrate,comprising: a chamber body having a reaction chamber, wherein saidchamber body has a substrate positioning area for positioning thesubstrate; a monomer discharge source having a discharge inlet forintroducing a coating forming material into said reaction chamber ofsaid chamber body; and a plasma generation source disposed in saidreaction chamber of said chamber body for exciting the coating formingmaterial, wherein said substrate positioning area is located at aposition between said monomer discharge source and said plasmageneration source in such manner that the substrate is adapted for beingarranged between said monomer discharge source and said plasmageneration source.
 2. The coating apparatus, as recited in claim 1,further comprising a supporting rack for supporting the substrate,wherein said supporting rack is adapted for being placed at saidsubstrate positioning area of said chamber body.
 3. The coatingapparatus, as recited in claim 1, further comprising a supporting rackfor supporting the substrate, wherein said supporting rack is mounted tosaid chamber body at said substrate positioning area of said chamberbody.
 4. The coating apparatus, as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising a supporting rack for supporting the substrate at saidsubstrate positioning area of said chamber body, wherein said supportingrack is operable to move in said reaction chamber of said chamber bodybetween said monomer discharge source and said plasma generation source.5. The coating apparatus, as recited in claim 1, wherein an electricaldischarge manner of said plasma generation source is selected from thegroup consisting of a direct current discharge, an alternating currentdischarge, an audio frequency discharge, a radio frequency discharge, amicrowave discharge, a medium frequency discharge, a penning discharge,a spark discharge and a pulse discharge.
 6. The coating apparatus, asrecited in claim 1, wherein said coating apparatus further comprise amonomer supply unit which comprises a material storage member forstoring a raw material of the coating forming material, a vaporizer forvaporizing the raw material to form the coating forming material whichis a monomer vapor.
 7. The coating apparatus, as recited in claim 1,wherein said coating apparatus further comprise a monomer supply unitwhich comprises a material storage member, which is communicated to saidmonomer discharge source, for storing the coating forming material whichis a gaseous monomer.
 8. A coating apparatus for coating a substrate,comprising: a chamber body having a reaction chamber; a supporting rackhaving a supporting area for supporting the substrate within saidreaction chamber of said chamber body; a monomer discharge source havinga discharge inlet for introducing a coating forming material into saidreaction chamber of said chamber body; and a plasma generation sourcedisposed in said reaction chamber of said chamber body for exciting thecoating forming material, wherein said supporting area of saidsupporting rack is located at a position between said monomer dischargesource and said plasma generation source in such manner that thesubstrate is adapted for being arranged between said monomer dischargesource and said plasma generation source.
 9. The coating apparatus, asrecited in claim 8, wherein said supporting rack is mounted in saidreaction chamber of said chamber body between said monomer dischargesource and said plasma generation source.
 10. The coating apparatus, asrecited in claim 8, wherein said supporting rack is operable to move insaid reaction chamber of said chamber body between said monomerdischarge source and said plasma generation source.
 11. The coatingapparatus, as recited in claim 10, wherein a movement of said supportingrack is selected from the group consisting of a linear movement, acurvilinear movement, a sliding movement and a rotating movement. 12.The coating apparatus, as recited in claim 8, wherein said plasmageneration source is mounted to said chamber body remotely and spacedlyfrom said monomer discharge source.
 13. The coating apparatus, asrecited in claim 8, wherein said plasma generation source is mounted tosaid supporting rack at a side of said supporting rack which is oppositeto said monomer discharge source.
 14. The coating apparatus, as recitedin claim 8, wherein said chamber body has two side walls which areopposite to each other, wherein said monomer generation source and saidplasma generation source are respectively disposed in said reactionchamber of said chamber body at positions adjacent to said two sideswalls which are opposite to each other.
 15. The coating apparatus, asrecited in claim 8, wherein chamber body has a side wall, wherein saidmonomer generation source and said plasma generation source are disposedin said reaction chamber of said chamber body at positions adjacent tosaid side wall of said chamber body and are remotely and spacedly fromeach other.
 16. The coating apparatus, as recited in claim 8, whereinsaid chamber body has two adjacent side walls, wherein said monomergeneration source and said plasma generation source are respectivelydisposed in said reaction chamber of said chamber body at positionsadjacent to said two adjacent side walls of said chamber body.
 17. Thecoating apparatus, as recited in claim 8, wherein an electricaldischarge manner of said plasma generation source is selected from thegroup consisting of a direct current discharge, an alternating currentdischarge, an audio frequency discharge, a radio frequency discharge, amicrowave discharge, a medium frequency discharge, a penning discharge,a spark discharge and a pulse discharge.
 18. The coating apparatus, asrecited in claim 8, wherein said plasma generation source comprise anelectrode means for applying an electric power to the coating formingmaterial, wherein said electrode means comprises a pair of electrodesfor implementing a radio frequency discharge.
 19. The coating apparatus,as recited in claim 8, wherein said plasma generation source comprise anelectrode means for applying an electric power to the coating formingmaterial, wherein said electrode means comprises a planar electrodewhich is extending in said reaction chamber.
 20. The coating apparatus,as recited in claim 8, wherein a cross section of said reaction chamberof said chamber body is selected from the group consisting of a circularshape, an oval shape, and a polygonal shape.
 21. The coating apparatus,as recited in claim 8, wherein said supporting rack comprises aplurality of said supporting areas for supporting a plurality of thesubstrates, wherein said plurality of supporting areas are arrangedaround said plasma generation source.
 22. The coating apparatus, asrecited in claim 21, wherein said supporting rack is operable to rotatearound said plasma generation source.
 23. The coating apparatus, asrecited in claim 21, wherein said supporting rack comprises a carrierrack having said plurality of supporting areas, wherein said carrierrack is operable to rotate about a central axis thereof around saidplasma generation source.
 24. The coating apparatus, as recited in claim21, wherein said supporting rack comprises a movable rack which isoperable to rotate about a central axis of said chamber body and acarrier rack having said plurality of supporting areas, wherein saidcarrier rack is arranged on said rotation rack and is operable to rotateabout a central axis thereof around said plasma generation source. 25.The coating apparatus, as recited in claim 21, wherein said plasmageneration source comprise an electrode means for applying an electricpower to the coating forming material, wherein said electrode meanscomprises a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of secondelectrodes which are opposite electrodes alternatingly arranged along acircumferential direction.
 26. The coating apparatus, as recited inclaim 25, wherein each of said first electrodes and said secondelectrodes is an elongated electrode plate.
 27. The coating apparatus,as recited in claim 21, wherein said plasma generation source comprisean electrode means for applying an electric power to the coating formingmaterial, wherein said electrode means comprises a first electrode and asecond electrode which are opposite electrodes, wherein each of saidfirst electrode and said second electrode is a cylindrical electrode andsaid first electrode is sleeved around said second electrode.
 28. Thecoating apparatus, as recited in claim 27, wherein said second electrodefurther functions as a gas extracting tube communicated to an outer sideof said reaction chamber of said chamber body.
 29. The coatingapparatus, as recited in claim 8, wherein said coating apparatus furthercomprise a monomer supply unit which comprises a material storage memberfor storing a raw material of the coating forming material, a vaporizerfor vaporizing the raw material to form the coating forming materialwhich is a monomer vapor.
 30. The coating apparatus, as recited in claim8, wherein said coating apparatus further comprise a monomer supply unitwhich comprises a material storage member, which is communicated to saidmonomer discharge source, for storing the coating forming material whichis a gaseous monomer
 31. A coating method for coating a substrate,comprising the following steps: (a) arranging the substrate in areaction chamber of a chamber body at a position between a monomerdischarge source and a plasma generation source; and (b) introducing acoating forming material into said reaction chamber through said monomerdischarge source for forming a polymer coating on a surface of thesubstrate in the effect of said plasma generation source.
 32. Themethod, as recited in claim 31, further comprising a step of repeatedlymoving the substrate between said monomer discharge source and saidplasma generation source.
 33. The method, as recited in claim 31,further comprising a step of rotating the substrate around said plasmageneration source.
 34. The method, as recited in claim 31, furthercomprising the steps of vaporizing a raw material to form the coatingforming material which is a monomer vapor and supplying the coatingforming material to said monomer discharge source for feeding thecoating forming material into said reaction chamber of said chamberbody.
 35. A coating method for coating a substrate, comprising thefollowing steps: (A) feeding a coating forming material into a reactionchamber of a chamber body through a monomer discharge source which isremotely from a plasma generation source; (B) moving the substratebetween said monomer discharge source and said plasma generation source;and (C) activating said plasma generation source to plasma process thesubstrate for forming a polymer coating on a surface of the substrate.36. The method, as recited in claim 35, wherein the step (B) comprisesthe steps of carrying the substrate on a supporting rack and driving thesupporting rack to repeatedly move back and forth between said monomerdischarge source and said plasma generation source.
 37. A coating methodfor coating a substrate, comprising the following steps: (I) moving thesubstrate in a reaction chamber of a chamber body defining a moving pathof the substrate, wherein during at least a proportion of the movingpath, the substrate is located at a position between a monomer dischargesource and a plasma generation source; and (II) discharging a coatingforming material into said reaction chamber of said chamber body toactivate a plasma process of the substrate during operation of saidplasma generation source.
 38. The method, as recited in claim 35,wherein the moving path of the substrate is divided a first proportionin which said monomer discharge source and said plasma generation sourceare respectively located at two sides of the substrate and a secondproportion in which said monomer discharge source and the substrate arerespectively located at two sides of said plasma generation source,wherein the first portion of the moving path is larger than the secondportion of the moving path.
 39. A coating method for coating a pluralityof substrates, comprising the following steps: (α) surrounding a plasmageneration source by the plurality of substrates and configuring amonomer discharge source and said plasma generation source at twoopposite sides of each of the plurality of substrates; and (β)discharging a coating forming material into a reaction chamber of achamber body to plasma processing the plurality of substrates by saidplasma generation source.
 40. The method, as recited in claim 39,further comprising a step of circumferentially arranging a plurality ofsaid monomer discharge sources, wherein the step (β) comprises a step ofradially discharging the coating forming material through said pluralityof monomer discharge sources towards said plasma generation source at acentral area of said reaction chamber of said chamber body.
 41. Themethod, as recited in claim 39, further comprising the steps of rotatinga rotation rack about a central axis of said chamber body and rotating aplurality of carrier racks about a central axis of each of saidplurality of carrier racks, wherein each of said carrier racks, which isused for carrying the plurality of substrates, is supported on saidrotation rack.